S = Soccer, Saturday, & Sydni

High Five if you love lazy days! The only thing that would've made this day better would've been Joe being home, but we're already adjusted to this type of thing, so we took it upon ourselves and our own devices to play by ourselves today.

The boots got their laces tied and one of the many size 5's in our house got plenty of sunshine today. Sydni's still getting the hang of it [i.e.: kicking, as opposed to carrying.. haha. She's her daddy's little goalie, for now...]

♥ ♥ ♥

So far it's been a stellar day... and I don't think tonight's going to be too bad either: Sydni and I will be hanging out and reading books. Awesome.

The weekends are too short for hoarded blogtime ;)

xo | cmd

Friday Fun | & Sara's Bday!

I ♥ FRIDAY

Ahhh, Fridays. Thank you for being you, and today especially, for being so marvelous. It's been a great week overall, and I absolutely believe this was the perfect way to round it out.

dewey's edwardsville
y-u-m.

It started with a planned lunch outing with my coworkers; I piled Nancy, Meagan, Courtney and Christine into the Altima and in no time, we were having a blast at the newly-opened Dewey's in Edwardsville. Since apparently this is a new trend in this area [these puppies are all over OH/KY], Nancy and I were the only two who'd been before this. The general consensus was good; I'd forgotten that I enjoy that place, and it was definitely a welcome change of pace from the usual list of available pitstops for the hour break. We got back to the office to find Jay, one of our favorite associates and personal family friend of the Voegeles, replacing each of our computers for the upcoming software upgrade. That slowed down the process of doing actual work, which made for a nice little cap on an already lovely last weekday.



niiiice :)
hoppy hoppy hoppy!



At home, I dug a special package out of the mailbox, addressed to one specific little lady, from my parents back in Ohio. Sydni wasted no time tearing into the bundle of bright, glittery foam eggs and a hilarious bunny mask. Sydni's been hopping around all evening, "hoppy hoppy hoppy.. Sydni's a bunny rabbit!" LOVE.

Oh, and in a completely unrelated matter, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Sara, waaaay back in Cincinnati. Her birthdays were always so much fun, because she is such a fun person! Hope your day was extraordinary, Sa!! Happy 26th, from Illinois to KY/OH! xo :)

happy 26th, sara!
[lauren. sara. cori] | circa 2007

Tomorrow = Zoo? Maybe. It all depends on whether or not Courtney has to babysit, and if Christine, Meagan, and I decide we're all motivated enough to get our hind ends out to St. Louis. :)

G'Nite!

xo | cmd

We ♥ Tiny TOMS

Good grief. I'm declaring the following statement, moreso for my own benefit than anyone else's. Obviously:

Dear Self: Sydni does not and will never need to own every single pair of TOMS that you see. REPEAT: Sydni does NOT need every pair of TOMS you see. It's a painful truth, but it's truth. Love, Cori.

Let me share with the class the reason for the wage of inner battle that has consumed me as Spring creeps into our house. With that comes the expunging of winter gear, heavy clothing, and of course, all things too small for growing girls. That includes shoes, and I've been semi-successfully fighting off the delicious temptation lately to clad little Boogie in a very specific type of footwear. It's not anything that consumes me to an unhealthy level [this is a dramatization, really], but they're so stinkin' cute, I nearly cave every time. She'll only be this size once, right [and contextually specific to photo opps, of course]?!

See for yourself:
 

option #1: navy biminis



option #2: flowered burlaps



option #3: plain ole burlaps

 Like I said, good golly! You can't deny they're adorable. I think I'll open the lines for voting and see which one she'll get - it's about that time to spoil her with a little something, if nothing else than for her successful and concerted efforts to conquer potty training [p.s. - where did time go?!].

We'll just hafta see. :)

This has been a beautiful week thus far. OH, and tomorrow's Friday. Wooooot!

God. Is. GOOD. Allllllll. The. Time.
[& what? That's right, ALL the time, God is GOOD!!]

xo | cmd

I Have Lovely Coworkers!

I remember [very clearly] the days of sitting at my desk, wondering nearly aloud how in the world I would ever survive my job on a long-term basis. It was my first real job out of college, and it was one of the most.... unique ... experiences of my life. I'll sum it up by saying simply that I learned a lot over those two years about what type of work I really loved, what I didn't love, and that the life to which I'd become accustomed to was actually not rational... or justified... or really even normal, for that matter. That was excellent news for me, considering I wasn't sure that my sanity would withstand that job for much longer than I spent there. Hah. It was an absolute God thing: the timing, the specific situation, and the introduction to the job I have now, with a company purposed to helping people, as opposed to soliticing them for money they don't have for a product they essentially don't need. It's a beautiful feeling, absolutely!!


my first express family | cinci east, 1663!
cori. deb. chris. brandi. jess | circa christmas 2010
miss you guys :)

I additionally believe that a large part of enjoying any job is built around the people with whom you interact on a daily, hourly, consistent basis. Since I started with Express, even back in Cincinnati [hi, 1663!! ♥], I realized that coworkers and bosses as a whole concept are not in fact evil deities employed to complicate my life. I no longer loathed office jobs; in fact I found myself developing a quick and genuine sense of endearment for my job, my company, my coworkers, and my bosses. Work became fluid and fruitfully productive [whaaat??], and for the first time ever, I was proud to say I worked for my company, instead of timid and robotic, like before. Haha.



yay, nancy! happy 1-yr expressaversary! here's to many more ;)

Alllll that being said, I now find myself surrounded by all women and one gentleman in an office that drives me up one wall and down the other at least once a week, but I love it. Even since I transferred in, there've been change after change, slowly but surely pushing us in a forward direction. Today in particular marked the 1-year Expressaversary for the only SC who predates my merging with this office. Congratulations, Nancy!! You definitely have an accomplishment under your belt! We celebrated with some balloons, congratulatory signs, and a gooey butter cake, compliment of Diana. Not a bad way to celebrate, that's for sure :)



shoe envy! itty bitty beauties for
a little lady with a huge heart: meagan!

 Oh, and because I work with some of the trendiest gals this side of the river, I couldn't help myself last night when I made a pitstop off at Target. My original intention was to exchange a damaged item I'd bought last week, but I must've blacked out momentarily; when I came to, I had plucked up an impassible pair of cork wedges on clearance, and another equally-adorable pair of pumps in a much smaller, much more Meagan-appropriate size. I couldn't help it; I figured that even though they were clearly too small for my collection, someone needed to own them! I'm still suffering from mild shoe envy, but hey, she sported them today once I gave them to her, and from that I'm satisfied. Hah.

My coworkers are the best. :) It's definitely gonna be a great year.

Happy mid-week to you, and all of YOUR coworkers!!

xo | cmd

Welcome Back to Glass

Goodbye, to another wonderful day! [Amen? AMEN!]

soak it in: beautiful sunset at the end of our cul-de-sac [not our house]

So, Joe's home now, which is a great weight off our minds. He met up with Gerald today in St. Louis for his re-initiation to the world of auto glass; he spent his day getting re-acclimated, and I spent mine doing what I do best at my job [everything! :-p .. ] It was a great day, I must admit!


goggle fun 8-)


I'd been instructed to decide where Joe, Gerald and I would eat dinner - specifically, somewhere really nice. I had a tentative game plan, but that was dashed when they rolled in the driveway around 8pm. In the meantime, Sydni and I took it upon ourselves to have some good old fashioned play time with ordinary things from Mommy & Daddy's closet. This time, Sydni found a pair of goggles, and was quick to fish them out and don them around the house. It took all she had not to throw a hissy once we finally did get moving off to dinner and she had to leave them behind [proud of her for holding it together!]. We found ourselves at Lotawata Creek at 8:30pm, followed by a quick drive-by on a potential new autoglass property, then back home. I'm spent, for sure.

It was wonderful to see Gerald, as short-lived as the visit was; the two of them will be air-bound to Atlanta this time tomorrow to scope out some of the other stores. Praying for travel mercies and productivity! Looks like Syd & I will have a few more days to our own devices ... watch out, ya'll ;)

xo | cmd

M O N D A Y [jampacked!]

welcome, christine!

The way I see it, if it's gonna be a Monday, let it ring in big! Today was full of fun things....

First, we hired another new gal at work, and she started today! [Congratulations, Christine, and welcome to the craziness that is our office. We're excited to have her as our new Business Analyst [code for Outside Sales], and certainly look forward to working with her! I've got a good feeling about this year :)

Once work was behind us, I headed home to get settled in for the evening, and for the weekly airing of The Voice. This has become an anticipated weekly habit now - not just watching the show, but texting Nancy & Meagan during the commercial breaks and/or during contestant performances and questionable choices by the judges. It really doesn't take but the simple things to satisfy me.. haha.

We were about 3/4 of the way through the show when Joe pulled in the driveway, having returned much earlier than originally planned! HE'S HOME!!! Spain and all of its architectural majesty was apparently awesome, but we skipped those formalities and got right down to the gifts that Daddy had brought back with him for his two girls. Sydni is already fast asleep clutching onto her new doll, and I will certainly enjoy sporting new shoes... from Spain :). We'll hear all about the actual trip tomorrow when Joe's no longer jet-lagged and I'm not longer exhausted from a true runaround day.

filipinos? -- verdict's out, but i'll letcha know ;)
lopez shoes! [shouts, nanc!] | sydni's spanish doll

Gerald gets in from California tomorrow to launch Joe back into his life in auto glass [welcome back..lol]. It's gonna be another big day... here goes...

xo | cmd

Sweet Days, Sweet People

With Joe still abroad on his ventures in Spain, Sydni and I made another go at flying solo to church. It was a pretty contained morning, since I was on nursery rotation and thus spent the morning downstairs and outside with Mo and the kids. Good stuff. I love love love those munchkins!


[borrowed]
... but it's so true!



After church, it was off to McAllisters with the Gobles, Prescotts, Babots, and Lara's parents. I wish I'd captured the scene that was Jacob and Sydni sharing their very own table for two, complete with food, drink, and crayons. Quite the grown up time for the two of them as they sat and babbled over games they were playing on individual smart phones. It was so cute... and totally worth it if nothing else than to observe the reactions of passersby as they did the double-take at two toddlers seemingly dining alone. It really doesn't take much to entertain me these days.

We managed to squeeze in a mini nap in the afternoon before it was right back to church for the evening service and choir practice. It's been a good night :)

Actually, it's been a pretty good day, immersed with good people, and of course good food. Life's good. :)

Oh! And Joe gets home tomorrow! It'll be late, yeah, but he'll be here. Praying for travel mercies....

[Meanwhile, it's back to the workhorse tomorrow!]

xo | cmd

The Hunger Games

It's not very often that I find myself getting into whatever current literatary phenom is trending among the tweens, teens, and even young adult crowds. Aside from the Bible [the original timeless classic], I find myself more prone to re-reading even a library-rented copy of The Little Women before I'd even think to crack open anything related to Harry Potter or Twilight. No offense intended to the wizard and vampire junkies out there; hey, if this is your thing, then you are fully entitled to it regardless of what anyone says.


not too bad, i must admit!

I'm talking now about Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games, which is debuting onscreen with the help of director/producer Gary Ross. Apparently, this particular trilogy is the material of choice right now [for school cirriculum, too, I learned], and was expected to render record-breaking sales in terms of the movie premier. We've been watching the previews  for the past couple of weeks, and I finally became intrigued enough to do some Googling. I found enough information on the premise of the story, the base layout for this current movie, and the cast of familiar faces we would see during the big screen debut. I hadn't actually committed myself to wanting to go see it, but at work yesterday, Meagan brought it up, which spurred some more conversation. From what I'd heard so far, this was supposed to be pretty good. She texted me mid morning and asked if I'd like to accompany her and Rob to see it; I figured why not?

lincoln theater | belleville, il
1930's | 2011

I didn't hate it!

I rendezvoused with the Greers for a late afternoon showing at the historic Lincoln Theater downtown Belleville. I'd not been to this place before, but I'm so glad I went! You wouldn't believe there were three theaters in this place just by looking at it from the outside, but it does, and plenty of character to boot! Adorable place, even when it is crawling with teenagers in the middle of a Saturday :)

So regarding The Hunger Games: I won't call make this a spoiler alert per se, but I will say that it was much better than I'd expected. Cinematically, I thought the characters had been cast with excellent reflection of the actor's individual persona, and it flowed well - even I, someone who clearly hasn't read the books or done any intensive homework on the plot, could follow along almost seamlessly. Sure, there were some details lost in the book-to-film translation, I'm sure, but it still all seemed relevent and fluid to me.

The rest of today was spent cleaning up, doing some laundry, and catching up on a few creative endeavors that have been lying dormant for a few weeks now. Once those are finished, I'll share with the class, too.

Two more days until Joe's home - what a nice switch back to normality that will be!

xo | cmd

Whew, Friday!

*Whewwwwww!
What a week!

It was one of those weeks that flew right on by, and ended with our office hiring a new outside sales girl. She starts Monday; it'll certainly be a new change of pace around work. It's funny for me to look back and see how much my office dynamic has changed even in the short time I've been at the office. When I first started, I was intentioned to replace Susie, who had accepted a position with one of our clients. Karen & Nancy were there, and when Karen left, I took over her accounts. Meagan came onboard then as the third staffing consultant, and just a month or so back, Courtney joined us as the new FOC. Christine will make 5, and join the team as the newest addition to the zoo that is our office. :) Congrats, Christine!


koinonia!

 Aside from the new hire news, it's been another jampacked week at Express! The day didn't end there; I picked up Sydni and headed back home just in time to do some last minute preparation touches to the house before our Koinonia group started rolling in. The Sleemans couldn't make it, but we had a great turnout no less, and as always, we were oh-so-well fed! :) Joe is still out of the country, so Tom took over and carried us the rest of the way through the last chapter of James. [Great job, Tom!] Two weeks from now will be our first big small group gathering, during which all three extension groups will rendezvous back together as a whole unit at the Woods. I'm certainly excited to do that, especially with the addition of so many new couples across the board in all the groups.

It's about that time to call it a night, after all the craziness that is my beloved small group. Just a few short days until Joe returns!

xo | cmd

My Long Lost Love: Happy Birthday, Catie!!

I dedicate this to a dear friend of mine!

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CATIE!!!

[[from IL back to OH, I miss you! Hope you've had a truly wonderful birthday!!]]



how we met - in the elevator of this heinously ridiculous company..
.. ultimately got stuck working together.. bahaha. what.a.riot.

circa 2008: fountain square, cinci | oktoberfest
xoxoxo!

realest moments. ♥

MISS YOU, CATIE!!

Anywho, the rest of the day was dedicated to a full day of work, followed by a long night cleaning house and making all the food for tomorrow night's small group. I'm totally spent, kids.

See you tomorrow. It's casual Friday - WOO!! [Doesn't take much to get us excited, I know, hah.]

xo | cmd

Ninjabread Men!

How. Hilarious. So last week at Joe's Air Force going away gig, I had the chance to spend some time with Caitlin. She told me about some cookie cutters that she'd seen online and almost ordered for us; instead of gingerbread men, they were ninjabread men. I thought it sounded kinda funny, but she posted the link on my Facebook...

... fast forward to today, when this little diddy showed up at my work.


ninjabread men!!

peanut dragon! hehe

^^ oh, yeah, and they included a little rubber finger dragon nestled right on top of all the packing peanuts. It was pretty funny. Anywho- one of today's highlights definitely included the delivery of ninja-shaped cookie cutters. Once I put these to use, you'll definitely see phootgraphic proof of that, too.

Thanks, again, Caitlin!!

xo | cmd

Rapunzel Is Taking Over My House

tangled

Every parent of a small child [or children, for most of you, actually] knows full well how quickly kiddie stuff can transform an otherwise tidy home into a a mecca of plastic, bouncy, cuddly, snuggly, plush, colorful, action-packed, age-appropriate gear purposed to entertain little hands for hours on end. We've only got one little monster so far, but our house already tells tales of a 2-year-old darling's affinity for dress up and dolls. While she's fairly well-rounded for just being two, the soccer ball and seemingly boy-catered toys for the time being take an absolute backseat to her current favorite: Rapunzel.

It started back in Cincinnati, when we watched Tangled for the first time at Joe's mom's house. From that point on, the movie became a staple in our collection of frequently-watched movies. Thanks to the Page girls [Carlee in particular], Sydni came home from their house one day with the Barbie-esque version of Rapunzel, handed down by Carlee. She's been toted everywhere since then, and when we added the bigger version of the purple-clad girl with magical blonde hair, it's been the three of them everywhere we go.

our two newest additions...

We had a blast tonight with just the two of us, of course along with Little Rapunzel and Big Rapunzel. They'll be here all week, too. :)

It's gonna be a silly week here; I can tell already.
... & I. Can't. Wait.

xo | cmd

Dreaming of the Bell

Joe went out exploring in Spain [local time] this morning.
I went to Glen Carbon, to work, this morning.

Totally Fair. ;)

I had a dream last night that seemed fleeting in event chronology by the time I was fully awake; what I do remember included being smack dab in the middle of Sedona, hiking up towards Bell Rock. It took me back to the most recent trip there with Kalyn and Sam. It was a quick few days, but we made it a point to swing through Sedona on our way out to the Grand Canyon one of the first days in Arizona. I spent moments on and off during the day recalling hilarious moments from our little westward excursion, and realized that I deeeefinitely miss my bestie, crazy crazy miss her.

best friend | border of colorado & new mexico | 2011

Looks like I'll be making a trip out west to visit here in the next few months! [[Get ready, KP!]]

Oy Vey, it's only Monday. Here's to the rest of this week..... [Time for The Voice!]

xo | cmd

Playdates Are For Kids AND Moms

Now that Joe's in Spain for the next week [and yes, he made it safely!], this was the first of two Sundays Sydni and I had flying solo. Amazingly enough, we made it out the door and into the church parking lot by 8:45, which I honestly don't think has happened yet. It was a typical Sunday morning: amazing service surrounded by my church family inside a building basked in beautiful sunshine.

Lara and I made our announcement about our 2012 Towerview Relay for Life team, and are praying for faithful involvement in any capacity from our church family. If you've not yet registered, please do!

You can do that by clicking the Logo Below :).


towerview baptist | relay for life 2012!
captain: cori dills | co-captain: lara babot

 [[If you have any questions about how to get registered, how you can participate, or how the whole thing works, please feel free to contact either Lara Babot or me, and we'll be more than happy to get you started!!]]

It was no surprise that we found ourselves all crunched together at a big table for lunch following church; it's so often a tradition. It was a busy day at the restaurant with the Gobles, Babots, Pages, Wernes, Woods, and one of Alex's soccer players and her boyfriend. I love that we are getting close with each other and developing relationships outside of just the pews, and I look forward to some variety of impromptu outing at least once a week. Our church family is the best, not that anyone's keeping track :).

We had just enough time to squeeze in a quick nap once we were home - and by we, I mean, Sydni, while I took care of some around-the-house things that needed attention. It wasn't long before we were back in the car, dessert in hand, on our way to the Gobles for dinner. Lara and Landon met us there; Alex was working. Tom had limited time to spend with us before heading to the church business meeting, so when it all boiled down, it was just Jackie, Lara and I, plus the kids. It's not very often I have a chance for adult bonding time in closer proximity than small group or Sunday school, so it was a refreshing change of pace to have that, while the kids entertained themselves in the backyard. Plus, Tom & Jackie went above and beyond to grill some chicken just for me, in lieu of the fact that their deliciously-scented potroast would've likely killed me on contact [booooo]. They are so thoughtful!



sydni @ the gobles



*Sidenote: only after we got home did I learn that Landon had informed Lara that Sydni was drinking bubble juice. Haha. Okay, so maybe the kids had a little too much fun. The good news is, it must've been a very minimal amount, because we've yet to see a side effect! *Phewwww.

This was the absolute perfect way to end the week. It's going to be an interest week without Joe here, but we'll get through it and will make the best from our own devices, I'm sure. :)

I am truly, deeply, undeservedly blessed.
Here we go, Monday!

xo | cmd

The D90 Is Back!

Oh do I L O V E Saturdays!

- Especially when the D90 can come out and play!

Here's a preview of what Spring's going to bring :)

[unedited] | blooms

closeups ;)

I'm working on getting a new external flash for the D - once that happens, we'll be in full business. I can't wait!

-- back to it, with the fam..

xo | cmd

Beautiful Life

This one's gonna be short and simple. :)

It's March, and it's 80 degrees in the midwest. Beautiful day!
Today marked the end of another work week. That was a beautiful thing.
My husband is currently en route to Spain with his good friend Lynn. Internationally beautiful.
I got to spend the entire evening with my daughter. Deeply beautiful.
The sun was still out as we took a walk through our neighborhood. Beautiful canvas.

This was the truest, most beautiful thing I've seen all week:

love. ♥

Please pray for travel mercies for Joe and Lynn as they take the next week to explore the beauty that is Spain :) We'll certainly miss him while he's gone....

Here comes the weekend!

xo | cmd

What. Just. Happened? :: Metal Concert?

tickets | joe & brandon

So before I get into this one, turn your SPEAKERS DOWN.

Did you catch that? Turn your speakers down... or off.. haha.

Mmmk.

So have I got a story for you. [Yes, this one's post-dated...]

Anyway, Joe approached me earlier in the week with an invitation to go with him to go and see a live band performance tonight. Since the drummer of this particular band works with Joe, I gladly accepted, knowing that Brandon [the coworker] and his band are a Christian gig. Apparently, nearly everyone in Joe's flight bought tickets, so we knew we'd be in good company. It was a date! We left Sydni with Dawne and made our way "somewhere towards St. Louis," as Joe had described the venue location. I was totally cool with that...

... until I realized we were in Sauget, in the parking lot of Pops. Haha. Yeah. So that's fine, right? At least there were a bunch of us there. Once we were inside, we settled in for the show. As it turned out, Brandon's band was co-headlining, so that put them in the 4th spot out of 5 bands. That being said, we all waited patiently for his band to take the stage, enduring in the meantime the 3 bands that lined up beforehand.

Here's how that went:

I know. That was our front row experience for nearly 3 hours. Man oh man. That video's not Brandon's band, but by the time his was up and moving, my phone had died, so that was a bit disappointing. Either way, I can now officially check the box on my bucket list that may have said, "Attend a death metal concert?"

Haha. We got home at the ridiculous hour of 1 AM, and so for obvious reasons I didn't even think about compiling the events into a blog for anybody. Now that I've been back in motion for the day and have the majority of my hearing back, there ya go. Haha. :)

Here's to bands! :)

xo | cmd

I'm a Closet Gleek

Yeah, about that. So the phenomenom that took over every closet theater nerd a few years back, known to the masses as Glee, is among those shows I classify as fun to watch, whenever I happen to catch it. I don't schedule my evenings around weekly Glee showings, but I'm guilty of YouTubing videos of their musical numbers and live performances, just to check 'em out.

This particular Glee interpretation of the F.U.N. song We Are Young came to mind today, after sitting at work for eight hours and hearing the original version about .. oh, I dunno,.... at least 400 times. You all know what I'm saying: most radio stations, especially the top 40 frequencies, typically have a playlist of 10-15 songs, if that, and it is those 10-15 songs that play on rotation .. alllllll... day..... long..... .

shyeah.

So before I get sick of this song, I figured I'd post up the Glee version of it. Quite frankly, I like it better, even without the visual of all the little Glee characters bopping around in their noted carefree styles. There really is a mass of vocal talent on this show, pained as that may be to admit. Hah.

It's off to church for now, before Joe has to start packing for his little vacation next week.
See ya!

xo | cmd

Short Lived But Well Worth It

In case you didn't know, Joe's in the Air Force. It's the military that brought us here to Illinois and opened the door for everything that is now a part of our daily lives. In hindsight, I should really be exercising a more prominent sense of gratitude for everything we have now and everyone who we've met in the last few years. I absolutely believe in the God things; my life now is the perfect testament to just that. [Free Plug specifically for our incredible church, Towerview Baptist, and its family, who has become one of our favorite, favorite things!]

So since Joe's been in the Air Force, he's found some once in a lifetime opportunities: he traveled to Virginia and earned a position on the 2011 All Air Force soccer team. They won gold medal in their tournaments, and he returned home an athletic icon at work. He's met a full battery of amazing people; by association, I've had the pleasure of meeting many of them. We've gotten a taste of military life and the perks that it offers. However, when it came down to it, we prayed over it and Joe felt prompted to part ways with the Air Force and pursue another avenue. His flight decided to throw him a going-away party of sorts, which was tonight! We summoned the aide of our unbelievably awesome babysitter, who agreed to keep Boogie overnight so we could enjoy the shindig company unrestricted. By 7:15, a crowd of nearly 30 people were packed into tables at Bdubs being entertained by the happenings of the evening....


too much. too much.



But let's REWIND. It's been quite the multi-tasked ride at work over the past week or so. With the warmer seasons comes a budding of business; it's awesome, but it's got each of us now shedding our winter coasting skin and branching out into all kinds of different directions at the same time. Apparently, I've been so engrossed in my day-to-day that I figured I'd make some last minute calls on my way home...

... with my computer mouse.

Yeah.

We pulled into the parking lot at Bdubs tonight and I thought i'd double check my memory to bring my camera. I thought I'd found it in the bottom of my purse, but instead fished out my mouse. I immediately sent a picture to Meagan & Nancy, who confirmed that I had just taken it to a whole new level of crazy. Woops.

Anyway, this night wasn't about me, at all. Joe's friends from work made the trek from base and surrounding area to hang out and celebrate his short lived but impacting career in the Air Force. Brandon even got him a plaque engraved that reflected the hilarious sentiment, underlined with Joe's famous tagline, "Hey big guy.."

joe's plaque | joe & brandon | puppy!
cori & caitlin | c&n's beautiful save the date

Pretty funny. We stayed through dinner, and ended up taking Caitlin back to her and Nick's apartment afterwards. We got to meet their adorable dog, and we even got a personal delivery of their Save-the-Date for their big day: November, in Arizona! [can't wait, can't wait, can't wait!]

All in all, definitely a good night. I'm spent though, and it's off to work early in the AM.

G'night!

xo | cmd

Monday It Is

Hey Meagan -

welcome baaaaaaaack ...... =P

It was absolutely a Monday. There's something almost tangible in the air in our office on Mondays. Each time, I find myself debating whether it's the fact that two days have passed without hint of human traffic, or if it's the remnants of cleaning product from our owners' son doing his routine scrub-down of the entire place. Today I realized that it's probably a mixture of both of those things, along with the naturally occuring vibe that just is ... Monday. Yep. It's just Monday: the constant rhythm of phones ringing, messages flying between desks, unread emails, and an invisible sense of urgency to get caught up on two days out of the office: two days that we were closed. Hah. Mouseclicks reach triple digits within the first five minutes, and we hit the ground running, at lightspeed. 

So Meagan [&Rob] returned safely from their Mexican cruise over the weekend, and I completely empathized with her on flipping the switch from relaxing vacation to the mayhem that is our job :). We are so, so glad you are back. By we, I primarily mean, I, but nobody's counting.

Once the blur slowed down enough for me to start processing it [that happened right about 5:00pm], I headed home to unwind before The Voice aired. I became a huge proponent of this show last season when it originally debuted, and I am completely fine with repeating myself this time around. I also know that Team Adam [or whatever his team name is] won last season. I'm all about his team again this season; he's got a solid group of talent!

the voice | team adam 2012

It's definitely been a Monday!

That being said, it's about time for this little trio to settle in and watch the show.

Let's go Team Adam!

xo | cmd

Hello, Color!

Hello, Almost Spring!

Sure, it's just barely March here in the midwest, but I have to say I don't think I can remember the last time I saw weather this consistently tolerable so early in the year. There have been a few days of chilly temps and gusting breeze, but for the most part, the weather vibe here seems advanced for where we sit on the calendar. I'm allll for it.

To celebrate the positive impact that all this beautiful weather has had on our family alone, Sydni decided she wanted to doll up [from head to toe] in purple. It's her current favorite color, and a good one at that. She flaunted her purple all morning before she exhausted herself and wound up collapsed on my lap. She's a party animal, really. Hah.

While she [and Joe] were taking their afternoon snoozes, I took the opportunity to play with some color myself. It's been a little while since I had the bead boxes spread out in front of me, ripe for the picking. I dusted off the dress form and took to building around her neck until I completed the first of [hopefully] many pieces that will claim birthday to this spring. :)



newest pinterest addition!



I'm pretty excited, too, that I've finished that, and now this, with 20 minutes to spare before we're scheduled to be back at church for our last night of our Rick Warren 40 Days in the Word study.

I'm also fairly excited that I feel exponentially better than I did at this time last week. Meagan returns to work tomorrow, and the week will surely pick back up at full speed.

40DITW, here we come!

xo | cmd

Saturdays Are So Cool

I just have one thing to say about Saturdays like this:


love.

This one's dedicated to the daddy who makes our lives amazing. :) We love you so much, and hope you will always remember just what you mean to us.

It's family time, ya'll. Have a truly wonderful weekend!

xo | cmd 

Koinonia Chili Cookoff

Today couldn't have been a more perfect ending to a very long week. :) I love those types of Fridays.

casual days, woo!

1. Work. We survived! Meagan has been out all week enjoying a deserved vacation with her hubby Rob on a Mexican cruise. We had the task of adjusting to her absence and the work that came along with it, and managed to power through at a jet powered pace. I've got 10 new starts to add to our running least when Monday hits, and that's just to start. There was a level of productivity today alone that should be worth noting. I'm so proud of our little team! [but P.S. - Meagan, be advised you will be dragged from your house and to the office if you don't return on your own free will on Monday. Hehe.]

2. It was casual day at work. That in and of itself is a celebration. It makes our lives exponentially better just starting off the day sans fancy schmancy wardrobe. I'm all for it.

3. Small Group/Koinonia! We thought chili night would be totally appropriate, for one because everyone loves chili, but also because we've exhausted many of the other more popular options for dinner themes. As is custom with our small group, there was no shortage of delicious food, this time chili, all the fixings, salad, sides, and of course, desserts. On top of that, we had a stellar discussion time over our night's concentration on James 4. Jarod even joined us, and it looks like he might become a regular attendee. We are certainly growing! :) Good times, good times.

chili lovers unite | koinonia fridays ♥

4. Babies!! Well, in this case, just one, but he certainly stole quite the reaction out of all the gals in our group tonight. The Gobles are one of the couples with a new addition, and they bring him each week, along with their older son Jacob. Julie had little Evan giggling and giving us his big cheeky grin, and we were just eating it up. Adorable, adorable, friggin' adorable.

It's been a good day, ya'll.
Here's to the beginning of the weekend :)

xo | cmd

An Eagletriever?

wait, what? :)

I am more than happy to report that I spotted a small spec of reprieve today from this ridiculous bout of whatever it is that's been plaguing me for the majority of the week. I had more energy today than I've had over the last three days combined, and I made it all evening without a nap. Wa-hoo! For the first time all week, I actually felt better at the end of the day, as opposed to the beginning. Go figure. :)

In the meantime, I had someone pass along these silly little hybrids to me. I give due credit to the creative wanderings that led to these being created. I'll leave these for your meanderings. Meanwhile, I'm kinda glad that these original creatures were designed by God, and in the fashion He desired. Hah. Just sayin'. These are definitely fun to oogle at, though. Hah..

Tomorrow = FRIDAY!

Friday = Small Group!

Small Group = Amazing, always :)

 xo | cmd

Day 3. Stoppppp :(



... and counting. :(

 I am typically a fairly enduring person when it comes to being sick. However, today was the closest I've been in quite a while to taking something to appease the headcold. *Sigh.. I didn't, but hot dog did I nearly collapse into just doing it. haha.

No church for me tonight. Joe & Sydni are on their way out now to go; I'm on my way out too.... to bed.  

*Toughin it out!

xo | cmd

Sick Day Numero Dos.

[ ^ NEED.]

Yep.

Still sick.

That's all.

xo | cmd

Cough Sniffle Cough.

Oh man. I am sick. I mean that in the most literal way you could imagine. I am flat out sick. I totally understand that we're all daily inching towards the end of our time here, but today had to be the max-capacity accelerated version of that for me. Don't ask me how I made it through today. I don't remember.

remember this? i wish i could've done this today...

Meagan is gone on vacation all this week, and Courtney called off sick today. That left Nancy and I to our own devices, and me the exhausted heap of sniffling, sneezing, and wheezing that I am right now.

Good night, for the second time this evening...

xo | cmd

Oh, What a Beautiful D A Y

1. LIFE IS GOOD.
B. LIFE IS GOOD.
3. LIFE. IS. GOOOOOOOOD!

What a truly beautiful little day this turned out to be!



hello, tiny toms!

  We started off the day with breakfast together before Joe had to go in to work. I was fairly bummed that he had to work this morning, especially since my parents were here and we were gearing up for a loaded church service. Sydni insisted on donning her purple sparkly shoes, so the TOMS made their first public appearance this morning, as well. Loved it...

she dressed herself this morning - not too bad!



becky & tom's baptisms | children's choir!

We didn't quite make it in time for Sunday school, but we were definitely there with plenty of time to get settled in before choir and the baptisms started. Nick & Rebecca, the new couple we met at the Sandvens, made it for their first Sunday. It was a whirlwind of a morning; the children's choir debuted for the year, and not one, but two of our small group members were baptized!

Congratulationsssssssss!!!! Tom & Becky, it was a blessing watching you be baptized. [Our small group rocks!] Major kudos, too, to the children's choir. It was definitely a great morning.

Once church was over, our entire small group rallied together at Bdubs to celebrate the two baptisms.

Back at home, Sydni and I resigned ourselves to a long afternoon nap. This is perfect example of the conversation Joe and I had regarding the fact that whenever we are around my parents, be it here or back in Ohio, we always want to sleep. It's absolutely not that we're that bored or disenchanted by the company; I think rather it's such a super sense of relaxation and peace that makes us want to just kick back and snooze for a bit. Today was no different, except that when I finally woke up, I felt like crap. [Boo. On. THAT.]

My parents leave tomorrow morning, and we go back to the week. Here's hoping I feel .. much.. better... tomorrow.

xo | cmd

Sydni Saturdays



i am so in love.

Today was allll about Sydni. Well, for Mom & me at least. Dad & Joe took off mid morning to explore downtown Belleville, and to stop off at the little hot dog dive that Jimmy & Alex introduced to Joe a few months back.

Rewind back to first thing this morning, when I woke up to find this little sneak fast asleep. I couldn't resist capturing the moment :)

Once she was up and rearing her silly hair, as she calls it, Sydni wasted no time in coercing some hot cereal and a movie out of her Nana & Pappy. She knows full well that she can wriggle anything she wants out of her grandparents; I certainly don't blame her for taking advantage of that. Haha.

Mom & I spent the day around the house, and after a house-wide early afternoon nap, the three of us headed out to do some grocery shopping & last minute errands. Dad & Joe rendezvoused with us back at the house just in time for dinner and a half game of Phase 10. We called it quits right around phase 6 or 7, but only because it took us forever to get there, and eyelids around the table started drooping.



phase 10



It's been an excellent day, and we're all spent.

Tomorrow's gonna be a great church service: two of our small group members are getting baptized, and the Sleemans are likely going to visit for the first time! Time to rest up :)

xo | cmd